United We Stand
by ObsydianDreamer
Summary: Autobots and humans may have only known of each others existence for a few years, but higher powers have been weaving their fates together for Millennia. ROTF onwards, eventual DOTM AU.
1. The Messenger

AN: This is a story I've been meaning to write for ages, and I've finally got around to it. I should probably mention that characters and ideas from other fandoms will cameo, but the emphasis is firmly on Transformers.

This chapter was betaed by the lovely SingingFlames.

**United We Stand**

**Chapter One: ****The Messenger**

By ObsydianDreamer

* * *

_Egypt, 2009_

Everything changed in an instant.

One moment, Sam was running towards Optimus, the dust of the Matrix held tightly in his hand. Adrenaline pumped through his veins, and he knew he would make it.

The next moment though, there was the unmistakable sound of a Cybertronian cannon. The blast landed only feet away, sending him spiralling through the air, before hitting the ground hard.

Everything suddenly slowed. The explosions happening around him became muffled and distant, as if they were happening somewhere else entirely. He felt pain, but it felt remote, as if it wasn't happening to him.

Then, there was nothing. Only inescapable blackness.

When Sam next opened his eyes, he was somewhere else. There were no signs of battle, just quiet. There was a gentle breeze, and he realised he was in some kind of valley. Sand crunched underneath his feet, and he noticed vast, impassable mountains surrounding him. An incredibly bright light shone ahead.

"Where am I?" Sam called out, hoping for a response. None came.

"Am I dead?" Was the next thing he asked aloud. He hoped it wasn't true, but nothing else could explain his current predicament.

"_We have been watching you_," a disembodied voice said, startling Sam. His eyes darted around, but he couldn't pinpoint where the voice was coming from.

"_For a long, long time,_" a deeper voice continued. Everything they said seemed to echo.

Suddenly, seven huge Cybertronians emerged from out of the light. They were colossal; bigger than any of the other Cybertronians he knew. They had an ancient aura to them, and it was clear that they came from an archaic time.

These must have been the great Primes that Jetfire had spoken about. Sam could feel the knowledge from the Allspark come into use, naming the seven Primes in front of him.

"You have a great destiny, Sam Witwicky," Prima, the leader of the seven, claimed. "You have fought for Optimus, our last true descendant, with courage and sacrifice, the virtues of a leader…,"

"A great leader," Alchemist Prime continued. Alchemist had helped build the Cybertronian Civilisation. "One worthy of our secrets."

"The Matrix of Leadership is not found, it is earned," Prima explained. "You will be able to revive Optimus. When you return, merge the Matrix with his spark."

Sam couldn't help but smile. It hadn't all been for nothing; he could and would save Optimus.

"But that is not all," a different Prime began. Their voice was distinctly feminine, and the Allspark told him it was Solus Prime, the only female Prime, the fabled weaponsmith. "There is a war coming, Sam Witwicky."

He stopped smiling when he heard the revelation. "A war?"

"Yes. A war against The-One-Who-Is-Last."

Sam felt his stomach drop. They didn't need another war. The Autobots had lost their home planet in the last war they fought, and had no desire to fight again. Yet they had no choice; they had to stop the Decepticons from bringing the same destruction to Earth.

"Primus has chosen eighteen individuals to fight in the Last Great War," Alchemist recounted. "Nine of them are from Cybertron, one is from Asgard, and eight of them are from Earth."

"The Messenger, the Maid, the Weapon, the Protector, the Prophet, the Soldier, the Hero, and the Assassin," The one named Polaris foretold. She wasn't one of the seven Primes, but she was one of the first thirteen; the future-seer.

"You are one of them," Prima said. "You are the Messenger."

"What am I supposed to do?" Sam asked, not sure of what to do with this new information.

"Find the others, and lead them," Alchemist replied. "They are spread through time and distance, although ultimately all of them are connected. Few of them will know that they were chosen, and some will not cooperate willingly."

"You carry the knowledge of the Allspark within you. You are using it even now," Solus added. "All the information you need is there. It will help in your mission."

"Find them. _Unite them_," Prima urged. "It is, and always has been, your destiny."

And with that, the Primes summoned a great amount of energy, energy unlike anything Sam had felt before. It surged inside him, making him feel once again alive.

There was an all-encompassing white light, and suddenly, everything rushed back to Sam.

He took a sharp breath, and flinched up. Mikaela was next to him, holding him, tears in her eyes. He was back in the land of the living, in the middle of the battle. Fumbling around next to him, he found the Matrix, which was once again solid, and not just dust.

Standing up with the Matrix in hand, he felt ready for anything.

0-0-0-0-0-0

The sun was setting on the Egyptian horizon, and Sam finally found himself able to relax.

Everything had gone quiet, as the dust settled on the battlefield, revealing the full extent of the damage. The small village had been completely destroyed by the fighting, the corpses of the Decepticon assailants strewn everywhere, the sand soaked in spilt energon. NEST was currently in the process of cleaning up, making it look like the incident had never happened.

How they would do that when half of the Great Pyramid was destroyed was beyond Sam.

Once the Fallen had been defeated, the remaining Decepticons had fled; many of them badly damaged, including their leader, Megatron.

The Autobots, meanwhile, had fared far better in the battle. Only Elita and Arcee had been critically injured; although Ratchet was working on repairing them, they still weren't sure if the two Autobots would make it. Apart from that though, there had been no Autobot casualties.

Sam shifted on the warm sand, breathing deeply. Only days ago, he had wanted a normal life, away from the Cybertronians and the war. But now, he realised, he would never have that. Higher powers had chosen him to lead, a call he could not refuse.

He could only hope he was ready for it.


	2. Aftermath

AN: Sorry for the delay between chapters. Both my beta and I have very been busy. I should also point out that this fic is not TF4 compliant. I saw the movie and loved it, but I don't think it'll work well with this fic.

Also, Marvel gets mentioned in this chapter. :D

**Chapter Two: Aftermath**

By ObsydianDreamer

* * *

_Off the Coast of Egypt, a few hours later_

_::__Our races, united by a history long forgotten and a future we shall face together. I am Optimus Prime, and I send this message so that our past will always be remembered. For in those memories, we live on::_

Optimus Prime terminated the transmission, the information travelling into deep space at the speed of light.

The Autobots and their human allies were on an aircraft carrier, heading back to their base at Diego Garcia. Ironhide had informed him that while he had been offline, a decision had been made to deny their asylum on Earth, although it now appeared that it had been overturned.

Sam was beside him on the edge of the ship. The young human had once again shown great bravery beyond his years and counterparts, obtaining the Matrix of Leadership and saving his life. There was something on Sam's mind though, Optimus could tell. The young human stared blankly out to the ocean, face creased in deep thought.

He was clearly troubled by something. Optimus wanted to talk about what was worrying the young human, but he would have to ask him later. He had a debriefing with Human intelligence officers, and he wanted to see his team before that.

They were still in the process of repairing after the latest battle with the Decepticons. Miraculously though, all of the Autobots involved had survived. There were injuries though; both Ironhide and Bumblebee had sustained minor damage, as had Skids and Mudflap after taking on the massive combiner. Elita and Arcee had been the most damaged during the battle, and were still critical.

Carefully making his way through the human vessel, Optimus arrived at the makeshift medical bay that had been set up in one of the cargo holds. Ratchet was there, working at a bench, with Mikaela helping him. Chromia was there too, keeping watch over the two femmes whom she thought of as sisters.

Elita and Arcee were laid down on medical berths, both in deep statis lock. Wires and tubes ran out of both of them, keeping them alive. He moved closer to see the two femmes.

Once, before the war had started, he and Elita had been lovers. They would have been Sparkmates too, but then Megatron had betrayed them all and created the Decepticons. Not long after, Sentinel went missing in action, and Optimus had been elevated to Prime. True Primes could not have Sparkmates; after all, it would mean putting one being before others, and a true Prime could not do that. Neither had liked it at the time, but as the vorns passed, both had come to accept it.

Arcee, meanwhile, was one of the youngest of the Autobots. She, along with Bumblebee and both sets of twins, had spent their entire lives fighting in the war. They'd never known what Cybertron was like before; instead they spent the entirety of their younger years training to become soldiers. It was perhaps the greatest tragedy of the war; virtually an entire generation lost to a conflict it hadn't even started.

"Ratchet said they should recover," Chromia whispered, interrupting his thoughts. She didn't move from her place beside Elita and Arcee. "They're both tough. You know that."

Optimus nodded in response, glancing at the femmes one last time before leaving the cargo hold. The meeting couldn't wait any longer.

Transforming, he made his way to the ships war room, where the meeting was taking place. Ironhide was already there, along with the human commanders William Lennox and Robert Epps. Other important humans filed in; officers and commanders that Optimus did not know personally.

Three large screens and satellite connections were set up; one showed the NEST Headquarters, the second showed was connected to The Pentagon. The other, however, was still blank. Once all the humans were there, the meeting started.

"In light of recent developments, the President has decreed that the Autobots be granted continued asylum on Earth within the United States of America," General Morshower said, sounding pleased by the decision. "NEST has been re-opened and will continue with their Anti-Decepticon efforts."

"Our main priority right now will be to track down any remaining Decepticons," William Lennox added. "With support from the Pentagon, we hope to start as soon as possible."

"That support will be granted," an unfamiliar human, presumably a General, replied from the Pentagon. "We've already sent every available drone to sweep across Northern Africa in an attempt to find any remaining Decepticons. So far we've found none."

"Our second job, and perhaps the more difficult one, is the clean-up operation," Morshower announced. "As you know, The Fallen televised a message across the earth, and the damage caused to the Pyramids is irrepairable."

"So now, humans will know of our existence?" Ironhide asked. Optimus thought much the same.

"No," To everyone's surprise, the voice came from the third and previously blank screen. Five shadowed figures were around a table, their expressions unreadable.

"What you are about to find out is classified above top secret," the General from the Pentagon said. "You are about to be briefed by the World Security Council. They outrank every government, every agency; they are the highest level of security on this planet."

"You have done much to protect planet Earth and and for that we are grateful,"One of the shadowed figured said, "but mankind is not ready to know about the existence of aliens."

_::I don't like this, Optimus,::_ Ironhide said, via comm. link. _::Any agency that doesn't show its true face should not be trusted.::_

_::Perhaps. But we must trust that the humans know what they are doing.:: _Optimus replied.

Meanwhile, the shadows known as the World Security Agency continued to speak.

"The clean-up operation is already underway in Cairo. As for the attack itself, all media is being told to report that an already existing terrorist group is responsible."

"Which one?" one of the present soldiers asked.

"The Brotherhood."

A quick search of the internet brought up many results, although little fact seemed to be known.

They were a group of mutants who were behind a failed attack in New York a few years previous, but almost all members behind the plan had been apprehended. Rather concerningly though, in the months following, violence against members of the mutant community had reached their highest ever levels.

"You cannot blame what we have done on other humans," Optimus protested. "It will only lead to more violence."

"It has already been done," one of the councilmen replied. "And if you value your continued asylum on this planet, you _will_ comply."

The atmosphere in the room changed. It was too soon after the last battle, and no one was in the mood to take threats, whether it be from a government, or a high ranking-agency. The NEST soldiers, defensive of their Autobot teammates, were instantly on edge, ready for a fight. A low humming sound followed as Ironhide powered up his cannons in warning.

A series of tense moments went by before Optimus stepped back, shaking his head.

"Fine."

Ironhide re-opened the comm. link. _::I have a feeling that this is going to come back to haunt us, Prime.::_

_::As do I.::_ Optimus replied, hoping he was wrong.


	3. The Next Move

AN: And now for some Decepticon POV!

**Chapter Three: ****The Next Move**

By ObsydianDreamer

* * *

_Southern Sudan, a few hours later._

The pain Megatron felt as he transformed and landed was a bitter reminder that they had _lost_.

Shifting out of jet form, he landed on solid ground with much more force than he'd intended. He stumbled forward as pain shot through his frame, and snarled; he hated showing any kind of weakness.

Despite their superior numbers and strength, the Decepticons had been disgraced and defeated. Optimus Prime had been resurrected by the human boy, and he in turn had overcome The Fallen. The Solar Harvester had been destroyed as well, along with all chance of reviving Cybertron with the energon the local star would have provided.

He had managed to survive though; heavily damaged, but alive. The fact that he'd barely managed to live through the battle made him feel weak, and he remembered the words his Second-in-Command had spoken just before they fled.

_"__Not to call you a coward Master, but sometimes cowards do survive."_

He pushed the words from his processor. He was no coward. He was Lord Megatron, leader of the Decepticons, and now, with the death of The Fallen, he answered to no one. They may have lost the battle, but they would win the war, no matter what it took.

Starscream landed next to him, a few nano-kliks later. The Seeker had a far more graceful landing, nowhere near as damaged after the battle. He strode over to Megatron, conceited as ever.

"Master, are you sure you can continue?" Starscream asked. He could hear the satisfaction in the Seeker's voice. "You're so weak after the battle..."

Furious at the comment, Megatron backhanded Starscream with his good servo, sending the Seeker to the ground, before stepping on his chassis just above the spark for good measure. His sudden movement sent more jolts of pain through his frame, and it was taking more strength than it should have, but he was not going to let the Seeker know that.

"I'm just as strong now as I was then," Megatron growled. "You'd be wise to remember that, Starscream."

"Yes, Master!" Starscream screeched, squirming. Megatron kicked him one last time before letting the Seeker go. "It's good to see that you're recovering from the battle."

Megatron grunted in reply, surveying the horizon for any signs of the Autobots or their human allies. By now, they were no doubt searching for any Decepticon survivors.

"Are we going to begin on Operation Prime, Master?" Starscream asked, standing up again.

"Yes," Megatron replied, not pleased. He had no wish to revive, much less work with Sentinel, even if the Prime would be below him. Nevertheless, furthering the Decepticon cause and rebuilding Cybertron depended on it. Without another word, he opened a comm. link with Soundwave.

_::Lord Megatron to Soundwave.::_

The communications officer responded instantly, in his distinctive monotone voice. _::Soundwave Reporting.::_

_::Begin Operation Prime. Send message to Shockwave, instructing him to come to Earth, and tell him to bring soldiers,::_ Megatron looked down to where his arm had been ripped off, before adding. _::And his best medic as well.::_

_::Affirmative. Shockwave and the human operatives will be contacted.:: _Soundwave stated. _::Suggestion: Use the Allspark sliver to revive other soldiers.::_

Megatron thought for a moment. While the energy left in the shard was limited, it would be more than enough to raise Blackout and the other soldiers that were currently rusting in the abyss, where his own frame had been so unceremoniously discarded.

_::Approved. I'll see to it myself,::_ After all, the Allspark shard couldn't be trusted to one who might fail. _::Bring a select few of the sparklings from the Nemesis. After we've resurrected our fallen, there may be enough left in the sliver to online the next generation of our army. Choose the ones that look strongest.::_

_::Affirmative. Shockwave, estimated time of arrival: Three orns. Strike teams will make landfall across the planet within five joors.::_

_::Excellent. That is all, Soundwave.::_

::_All Hail Lord Megatron._:: Soundwave replied, the connection falling dead moments later. With that settled, Megatron turned to his Second-in-Command.

"Shockwave has been contacted and Operation Prime begun."

Starscream nodded. "And what are we to do until the final phase? Nothing can be done until the Prime is awakened."

"Then we may need a secluded base," Megatron conceded. He hated having to hide, but there was little he could do until he was tended by a medic. "Go scout for one, Starscream, and destroy any satellites or tracking stations you find. We cannot have the Autobots knowing what is going to transpire."

"And what about you, Master?" Starscream asked, sycophantically obedient after his beating.

"We will split up," Megatron replied. He did not want to spend another klik around his useless excuse for a Second-in-Command. "Whichever direction you fly, I am going the exact opposite."

"If you insist, _Master_." Starscream replied, before launching himself into the sky, heading east.

Megatron did the same, a few kliks later. Ignoring the sharp stabs of pain and resistance, he once again transformed into a jet and blasted off, to the west.


	4. The Maid

**AN: I am so so sorry for the delay. Exam time happened, and then I wrote this chapter and I not happy with it no matter what I do. Still, I hope it's not too bad; we;re changing the scenery and ****introducing ****new characters. Lisa is a minor character from the anime Hetalia, where she is the reincarnation of Joan of Arc. **

**Chapter Four**

**The Maid**

By ObsydianDreamer

* * *

_The Southern Coast of Australia, the next day._

In the top-most room of her family's beach house, Lisa Miller sat alone.

Not that she minded, of course. After a long car trip in the morning and a following afternoon full of noisy reunions with various members of her extended family, Lisa found the solace of her room relaxing.

There were few sounds, apart from the endless crashing of waves on the nearby beach and the racket of noise coming from the downstairs living room as her family discussed what had happened overnight in Egypt.

Just the thought of what had happened put Lisa is a somewhat sour mood. The fact that a group of mutant terrorists had destroyed such a magnificent piece of ancient architecture to try and make a statement left her feeling angry and saddened.

Distracting herself from the negatives, Lisa moved to the small desk in the corner of the room, flicked on a lamp and took out her drawing book. Looking for inspiration, she turned to her dreams.

Her dreams had become increasing strange in the past two years. Sometime around her thirteenth birthday, she dreamt of war, and hadn't stopped since.

It was an old war, from what she could tell. It had raged for decades; a country trying to defend itself from invaders hell-bent on complete domination. Men in impressive armour on massive war horses charged against each other, hoping to kill as many of the other army as possible. But alas, the defenders were losing. Then, when all hope seemed lost, a peasant girl led them to victory against the invaders.

In the dreams, she was always the peasant girl.

However, other dreams were intermixed with the savagery of the battlefield. Sometimes she dreamed of beautiful medieval castles and of corrupt royalty and their decadent lives. In almost all of her dreams though, there was one man; a handsome, blond haired man with a charming smile and beautiful voice.

After it became apparent that the dreams were recurring and were all of the same places, Lisa had become intrigued, and started doing research. After a few months, she'd started finding matches to the places in her mind, and all of them were in France. She was almost certain that the war was the Hundred Years War.

Lisa often found herself wondering what the dreams meant. In an attempt to better understand them, she'd started drawing out the places and people she'd seen in her dreams. For Lisa, what started out as a curiosity quickly became one of her favourite hobbies.

She was about to start sketching a battle scene from a dream she'd had a few nights back, when she was interrupted.

"Watcha doing Lissy?" a voice called out. Turning around in her chair, Lisa saw her younger sister Hannah waiting at the door. She was small for a thirteen year old, and sickly looking. Only the glint in her blue eyes betrayed the energy and mischief that seemed to follow in her sister's wake.

"Not much," Lisa answered back. Taking that as an invitation, Hannah stepped into the room and moved across to her bed. In the dull light the lamp cast off, Lisa noticed she looked paler than usual. "What's everyone else doing?"

"Arguing about what they think happened in Egypt," Hannah replied. "Cousin Rad thinks aliens did it."

Looking at her younger sister, Lisa could tell that Hannah believed it as well. She rolled her eyes; Hannah had such an overactive imagination sometimes.

"No, really Lissy! Think about it, it makes sense!" Hannah argued at Lisa's disbelief. "The broadcast, there was an alien on it! I saw it!"

"Hannah, the broadcast was fake," Lisa replied, sighing as she tried to talk sense to her sister. "It was put together by bad mutants to scare people."

In response, the younger girl scowled and rolled over on her bed, sulking. Hannah had given up the argument, but Lisa could tell that she still believed it. Really, Hannah could be so annoyingly stubborn at times. Lisa turned back to her drawings.

But eventually, boredom and curiosity got the better of Hannah, and she walked over to the desk where Lisa was sitting.

"You drawing more of your dream pictures?" Hannah asked, gazing over her sister's shoulder.

"Yes," Lisa replied. "I've been doing research, and I think all these places are in France."

"Is that why you started taking French classes?"

"Oui."

Hannah nodded. "I have no idea what you just said, but it sounds French."

"I'm going to travel to France one day," Lisa announced. She was beginning to think that her dreams had a deeper meaning, but she didn't need to say that to her younger sister.

"That's cool," Hannah said in response, an uninterested tone in her voice. Lisa just sighed.

"Okay then. If my idea is boring to you, where do you wanna travel to when you're older?"

The question stirred Hannah's interests. "I dunno," The younger girl admitted, "Let me think for a bit."

Lisa nodded, and returned her focus back to her drawings.

0-0-0-0-0-0

_BOOM!_

The loud noise startled Lisa. Looking up, she saw a bright streak of burning blue light shoot across the sky, illuminating it for the briefest of moments. Another streak of light passed by, followed by another loud sound, not unlike an explosion.

Lisa wasn't sure whether to be amazed or terrified.

"That's so cool!" Hannah called out excitedly from behind her, running straight outside to the balcony. Lisa followed close behind, stepping outside.

It was mid-winter, and there was a distinct chill in the air, although it was still warmer than her inland hometown. A cool ocean breeze blew, causing her hair to flutter gently around her face.

Again, the night sky was lightened by a stroke of blue light. That made three. What were they? They were too big to be comets, or shooting stars. But if they weren't something like that, then what were they?

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Hannah grab onto the railings on the side of the house, beginning to climb up.

"What are you doing?" Lisa asked, strolling closer to where her sister was.

Hannah replied. "Duh, trying to get a better view."

Of course she was. "Get down! You'll hurt yourself!" Lisa called out after her, but it was no use; Hannah just ignored her. With little other option, she climbed up after her younger sister. After all, someone had to make sure she didn't slip and fall.

The railings were not as secure as Lisa would have liked. A fourth streak of light flew across the sky, startling her, and causing the frame to sway slightly. Her stomach lurched, and she gripped tightly as she forced her limbs to move. She didn't even consider looking down.

Moving as quickly but as carefully as she could, Lisa pulled herself up on the green-tiled roof. Hannah was already there, staring up to the night sky in awe. Lisa crawled across and sat next to her, holding her close. They watched the sky and counted the blue lights; in the end, there had been nine.

Even after the streaks of light had stopped, Lisa continued to sit up on the roof with her sister. It may have been chilly, but the stars looked twice as bright and numerous down the coast than in the city.

"Space." Hannah whispered.

"What?" Lisa asked, looking at her sister.

"You asked me where I wanted to travel when I'm older," Hannah replied. "Well, I want to be a space traveller."

"Why?" Lisa asked. "It just seems so big and empty."

Hannah thought for as moment, before answering.

"There must be other planets out there with life," Hannah reasoned. "Entire cultures, completely different from anything on this planet. More peaceful too, without war or hate."

Lisa had to admit it did sound appealing. Glancing at her watch, she stirred.

"Come on Hannah, time for bed."

"It's not that late," Hannah said back, suppressing a yawn. Lisa just smiled and carefully led her to the side, making sure that Hannah was down safely before she started to climb.

Both feet safely back on the balcony, Lisa looked at the stars one last time, and wondered what the future had in store for her.


	5. The Prophesy

AN: Ack, I'm not fully happy with how this turned out, but I really wanted to update. Sorry to keep you waiting. I should probably also mention that this fic will not be canon compliant with AoE, but I might bring in some of the characters later on.

I add more hints about the different chosen ones in this chapter; feel free to guess who they are!

**Chapter Five**

**The Prophesy**

By ObsydianDreamer

* * *

_Diego Garcia, A Week Later_

The week following the Battle of Egypt was relaxing for Sam.

He had been taken back to Diego Garcia with the Autobots, on the direct order of Optimus. It was reasoned that if the Decepticons tried any revenge attacks, then he was in the safest place possible for him to be. Not to mention that the Government was still in the process of clearing up his name after it had been plastered all over international television.

Currently, Sam was sprawled on a worn-out couch, in a hall that had been hastily converted into a recreation room. It was a hot and lazy afternoon on the island; no one was doing much of anything. So he was left with his thoughts.

Despite what he had first thought and hoped, the images and words of the Allspark had still not left him. If anything, they'd grown stronger in the days following his meeting with the Primes. Before, he could see the Cyberglyphs, but not understand them. But now, he could read them, and know what they meant. Sometimes, thoughts and ideas even came to him, as if the Primes were whispering it in his ear.

_"The Weapon; destruction made __flesh. And its Protector, a saint in demons skin."_

_"The Soldier. Fair and Just and frozen in ice, yet to be found."_

_"The Maid, who sees events long past."_

They were clues, Sam guessed. Clues to help him find the others. How the slivers of information would lead him to anyone, he had no clue.

He was interrupted from his thoughts as the door slid open, and Mikaela stepped into the room, beaming.

Sam couldn't help but smile in response. "You seem exceptionally happy today."

"Ratchet's agreed to let me become his apprentice," Mikaela said, leaning over the couch, wrapping her arms around him. "No more working in a run-down garage. I'll be doing something that matters."

"That's great," Sam replied, hugging her back. Working for the Autobots had been something Mikaela had wanted to do since the aftermath of Mission City. She'd always been good at mechanics, and-

Pain stabbed through his head, fast and vicious. Squeezing his eyes shut in pain, the too-familiar hollow voices filled his mind again.

_"The Assassin; fights for freedom but not bound by morality."_

As quickly as they had came, the pain and voices were gone again. Opening his eyes slowly, he saw that Mikaela was now next to him, holding his head and looking worried.

"Are you okay?" She asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Sam replied, pushing himself up against the couch.

"It's about what happened in Egypt, isn't it?"

Sam nodded; there was no point lying.

"You need to talk to Optimus," Mikaela urged. "He'll know what to do."

0-0-0-0-0-0

Walking into the main hangar of the building, it was hectic. Everything was being packed away into crates, loaded onto carriers.

Behind him, Mikaela asked, "What's happening?"

"I don't know," Sam replied. Scanning the room, he saw Optimus and Lennox in the centre, directing the soldiers. "But they will."

Cutting though the busy crowd, they made their way over to the commanders. Lennox was up on the viewing platform, talking to government agents and

"What's going on?" Sam called up.

"Government orders. We're getting a new base in Chicago," Lennox replied. "It'll make it easier to track down the remaining 'Cons."

"I think I'll go see if Ratchet needs any help," Mikaela said, to Sam. "Unless you need me to stay."

"It's fine, 'Kaela," Sam replied. Mikaela nodded, and kissed him on the cheek, before jogging off towards the medic hall.

Turning around, Sam asked, "Optimus, can I talk to you for a bit?"

"Of course," Optimus replied, kneeling down to be closer. "Something is troubling you."

"Yeah, something is," Sam said. "When I died, the Primes spoke to me."

"Very few have had that honour. What did they say?"

Sam took a steadying breath. "That a war is coming. And they didn't mean the War for Cybertron."

The room seemed to quieten then. The soldiers around stopped moving, concerned and curious. Even Ironhide and the other Autobots had paused, looking over.

"Sam," Optimus began, his usually calm tone replaced with one of urgency. "What exactly did they tell you?"

"They gave me a prophesy," Sam said, the severity of the situation was sinking in; there was another war coming, something bigger and worse than what they'd seen before. Not able to stay still, he quickly moved around, swiping a can of spray paint from a nearby crate.

"In the Last Great War, Primus himself will choose eighteen individuals to fight against the Fallen Ones and the Darkness Maker, The One Who is Last." He recited, as he painted out the glyphs. "Eight of them are from Earth."

Finishing, he pointed to the first Cyberglyph. "That one's me."

"The Messenger," Optimus said.

"Yeah. There's also the Maid, the Weapon, the Protector, the Soldier, the Prophet, the Assassin, and the Hero." He said, pointing to each glyph in turn. "I don't know who they are, or where, or anything."

"Is that all they told you?" Optimus asked.

"Yes, well, everything solid," Sam replied. He felt faint, tired. "They've given me clues, to find the others, but they're cryptic at best."

Keeping his expression carefully neutral, Optimus stood back up. The room was completely silent now, Sam realised, everyone watching intently.

"What now, Prime?" Ironhide asked.

"I will relay this information to the human authorities and the other Autobots," Optimus replied. "This is too important a revelation to ignore."


End file.
